2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
  • كأس الأمم الأفريقية تحت 17 سنة 2025
  • Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football des moins de 17 ans 2025
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
Dates30 March – 19 April
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Morocco (1st title)
Runners-up Mali
Third place Ivory Coast
Fourth place Burkina Faso
Tournament statistics
Matches played34
Goals scored100 (2.94 per match)
Top scorer(s) Asharaf Tapsoba
Alynho Haïdara
(7 goals each)
Best player(s) Abdellah Ouazane
Best goalkeeper Chouaib Bellaarouch
Fair play award Mali
2023
2026 →

The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2025 U17 AFCON for short, was the 15th edition (20th if editions without hosts are included) of the biennial African youth football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below.

Morocco was chosen as the host of this edition on 16 December 2024 at the annual CAF Executive Committee meeting along the 2024 CAF Awards ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco where CAF appointed the country as host.[1] which it organised from 30 March to 19 April. The top 10 teams qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the CAF representatives.

It was the first U-17 Africa Cup of Nations to feature 16 teams.

Senegal were the defending champions but were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Qualification

Player eligibility

Players born on 1 January 2008 or later were eligible to participate in this tournament edition.

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament.

Team Zone Date of qualification Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
 Egypt North Zone 23 November 2024 4th 2011 Champions (1997)
 Morocco (hosts) 23 November 2024 4th 2023 Runners-up (2023)
 Tunisia 5 February 2025 4th 2013 Third place (2013)
 Mali West A Zone 1 November 2024 10th 2023 Champions (2015, 2017)
 Senegal 1 November 2024 4th 2023 Champions (2023)
 Gambia 5 February 2025 5th 2011 Champions (2005, 2009)
 Burkina Faso West B Zone 25 May 2024 8th 2023 Champions (2011)
 Ivory Coast 25 May 2024 6th 2015 Champions (2013)
 Cameroon Central Zone 22 February 2025 9th 2023 Champions (2003, 2019)
 Central African Republic 22 February 2025 1st None Debut
 Tanzania Central-East Zone 24 December 2024 3rd 2019 Group stage (2017, 2019)
 Uganda 24 December 2024 2nd 2019 Group stage (2019)
 Somalia 5 February 2025 2nd 2023 Group stage (2023)
 Angola South Zone 11 December 2024 5th 2019 Third place (2019)
 Zambia 11 December 2024 3rd 2023 Group stage (2015, 2023)
 South Africa 5 February 2025 5th 2023 Runners-up (2015)

Match officials

Venues

The host country for the final tournament is Morocco, appointed during the General Assembly held in Marrakech, Morocco on 16 December 2024.[2]

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation choose four venues in four cities across the host nation Morocco: Casablanca, El Jadida, Mohammedia and Berrechid.[3]

Casablanca El Jadida Mohammedia Berrechid
Larbi Zaouli Stadium Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium El Bachir Stadium Berrechid Municipal Stadium
Capacity: 18,600 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 5,000

Squads

The 16 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 21 players with an option of up to 5 more additional players, including three goalkeepers. Only players born on or after 1 January 2008 are eligible to be registered in these squads.

Draw

The draw procedure was announced on 10 February 2025,[4] with the draw to occur on 13 February 2025 in Cairo, Egypt. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams.[5] Teams are seeded according to their performance in the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. Hosts Morocco were automatically assigned to Position A1 in the draw. Previous edition winners Senegal were assigned to Position C1 with Burkina Faso and Mali assigned to positions B1 and D1 respectively. The rest of the field were placed in Pot 1 to be drawn into the remaining positions.

Seeded Pot 1

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are applied exclusively to these two teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Morocco (H) 3 2 1 0 8 0 +8 7 Knockout stage and
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  Zambia 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7
3  Uganda 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3 FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off
4  Tanzania 3 0 0 3 1 10 −9 0
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Morocco 5–0 Uganda
  • Belmokhtar 3', 32' (pen.)
  • Ait Cheikh 8'
  • Baha 24', 71'
Report
Referee: Brahamou Sadou Ali (Niger)
Tanzania 1–4 Zambia
  • Sagwe 90+5'
Report
  • Kalimina 8'
  • Nyirongo 45'
  • Mutale 79'
  • Phiri 90+6'

Uganda 3–0 Tanzania
  • Wanyama 61'
  • Okello 85'
  • Bogere 90+2' (pen.)
Report
Referee: Lominson Todihajaniaina (Madagascar)
Zambia 0–0 Morocco
Report
Referee: Vincent Kabore (Burkina Faso)

Morocco 3–0 Tanzania
Report
Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)
Uganda 1–2 Zambia
  • Torach 49'
Report
  • Chipelu 20'
  • Daka 86'
Referee: Abdulwahid Huraywidah (Libya)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Burkina Faso 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Knockout stage and
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  South Africa 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
3  Egypt 3 1 0 2 6 7 −1 3 FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off
4  Cameroon 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Burkina Faso 2–1 Cameroon
Tapsoba 19', 41' Report Mimbang 75'
Referee: Hamza El Fareq (Morocco)
South Africa 4–3 Egypt
Report
Referee: Leonidas da Graça (Cape Verde)

Cameroon 0–0 South Africa
Report
Referee: Brahamou Sadou Ali (Niger)
Egypt 1–2 Burkina Faso
Ateya 78' Report
  • Dabo 41'
  • Tapsoba 69'
Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)

Burkina Faso 2–0 South Africa
  • Bara 65'
  • Tapsoba 89'
Report
Referee: Aline Umutoni (Rwanda)
Cameroon 1–2 Egypt
Zibi 33' (pen.) Report

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Knockout stage and
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  Senegal 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7
3  Gambia 3 1 0 2 6 4 +2 3 FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off
4  Somalia 3 0 0 3 1 10 −9 0
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Senegal 1–0 Gambia
I. Sow 7' Report
Somalia 0–3 Tunisia
Report
  • Tayechi 6', 58'
  • Saidi 43'
Referee: Reginald Amoah (Ghana)

Gambia 5–1 Somalia
  • Drammeh 4' (pen.), 16', 76'
  • L. Mohamed 45+3' (o.g.)
  • Mendy 89'
Report
  • A. Mohamed 48'
Referee: Cregue Moukagni (Gabon)
Tunisia 0–0 Senegal
Report

Senegal 2–0 Somalia
  • I. Sow 29' (pen.)
  • E. Sow 90+4'
Report
Gambia 1–2 Tunisia
  • Mendy 46'
Report
Referee: Lominson Josianno Elivas Todihajaniaina (Madagascar)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Ivory Coast 3 2 1 0 10 3 +7 7 Knockout stage and
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  Mali 3 2 0 1 6 5 +1 6
3  Angola 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4 FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off
4  Central African Republic 3 0 0 3 2 14 −12 0
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Mali 2–1 Angola
  • Bomba 11'
  • S. Coulibaly 74'
Report
  • Jayden Puna 45+3'
Referee: Abdulwahid Huraywidah (Libya)
Ivory Coast 6–1 Central African Republic
  • Haïdara 4', 13', 41' (pen.), 55' (pen.)
  • Koidio 21'
  • Touali 88'
Report Otto 45+4'

Angola 0–0 Ivory Coast
Report
Central African Republic 0–2 Mali
Report
  • Fané 21'
  • Bomba 46'
Referee: Lucky Kasalirwe (Uganda)

Mali 2–4 Ivory Coast
  • Dembélé 45+3'
  • Bomba 69'
Report
  • Haïdara 4', 18' (pen.)
  • Keita 41' (o.g.)
  • B. Cissé 90+5'
Angola 6–1 Central African Republic
  • Lucas 13' (pen.)
  • Liyun 26', 63', 69'
  • Muanha 64', 90+2'
Report
  • Otto 87'

FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off

Winners qualified for 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Uganda 2–1 Gambia
Bogere 13', 33' Report Kanyi 1'
Egypt 2–1 Angola
Report Lourenço 83'

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 75).

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
10 April – Mohammedia
 
 
 Morocco3
 
15 April – Mohammedia
 
 South Africa1
 
 Morocco (p)0 (4)
 
11 April – Berrechid
 
 Ivory Coast0 (3)
 
 Ivory Coast (p)0 (5)
 
19 April – Mohammedia
 
 Senegal0 (3)
 
 Morocco (p)0 (4)
 
10 April – Casablanca
 
 Mali0 (2)
 
 Burkina Faso6
 
15 April – Casablanca
 
 Zambia1
 
 Burkina Faso0
 
11 April – El Jadida
 
 Mali2 Third place match
 
 Tunisia1 (9)
 
18 April – Casablanca
 
 Mali (p)1 (10)
 
 Ivory Coast (p)1 (4)
 
 
 Burkina Faso1 (1)
 

Quarter-finals

Burkina Faso 6–1 Zambia
  • Fofana 11'
  • Tapsoba 21' (pen.), 77' (pen.), 90'
  • Diakité 58', 68'
Report Nyirongo 35'
Referee: Hamza El Fareq (Morocco)
Morocco 3–1 South Africa
  • El Aoud 13'
  • Baha 61', 62'
Report Bohloko 54'
Referee: Brahamou Sadou Ali (Niger)

Ivory Coast 0–0 Senegal
Report
Penalties
  • Touali
  • Doumbia
  • N'Guessan
  • Gobehi
  • Haïdara
5–3
  • A. Mbengue
  • O. Ndiaye
  • E. Cissé
  • Dieng
Referee: Abdulwahid Huraywidah (Libya)
Tunisia 1–1 Mali
Report
  • Dembélé 42'
Penalties
  • Saidi
  • Ben Ali
  • Mokhtari
  • Tayechi
  • Telmoudi
  • Abdallah
  • Akid
  • Touati
  • Hasni
  • Krai
  • Bouaskar
9–10
  • Bomba
  • Keita
  • Fané
  • Berthe
  • Dembélé
  • Tounkara
  • Camara
  • Doumbia
  • Traoré
  • Konaté
  • Diarra
Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)

Semi-finals

Burkina Faso 0–2 Mali
Report
Referee: Abdulwahid Huraywidah (Libya)
Morocco 0–0 Ivory Coast
Report
Penalties
4–3
  • Touali
  • Doumbia
  • N'Guessan
  • Bamba
  • Haïdara
  • Sylla
Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)

Third place match

Ivory Coast 1–1 Burkina Faso
  • Haïdara 84'
Report
  • Diakité 28'
Penalties
  • Haïdara
  • Bamba
  • Doumbia
  • Touali
4–1
  • Barro
  • Coulibaly
  • Ouattara
Referee: Lominson Josianno Elivas Todihajaniaina (Madagascar)

Final

Morocco 0–0 Mali
Report
Penalties
  • Baha
  • El Khalfioui
  • Ouahabi
  • Belmokhtar
4–2
  • Bomba
  • Keita
  • Koné
  • Berthe

Tournament rankings

Pos. Team Pld W D L Pts GF GA GD
1  Morocco 6 3 3 0 12 11 1 +10
2  Mali 6 3 2 1 11 9 6 +3
3  Ivory Coast 6 2 4 0 10 11 4 +7
4  Burkina Faso 6 4 1 1 13 13 6 +7
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5  Tunisia 4 2 2 0 8 6 2 +4
6  Senegal 4 2 2 0 8 3 0 +3
7  South Africa 4 1 1 2 4 5 8 −3
8  Zambia 4 2 1 1 7 7 8 −1
Eliminated in the group stage
9  Angola 3 1 1 1 4 7 3 +4
10  Gambia 3 1 0 2 3 6 4 +2
11  Egypt 3 1 0 2 3 6 7 −1
12  Uganda 3 1 0 2 3 4 7 −3
13  Cameroon 3 0 1 2 1 2 4 −2
14  Somalia 3 0 0 3 0 1 10 −9
15  Tanzania 3 0 0 3 0 1 10 −9
16  Central African Republic 3 0 0 3 0 2 14 −12

Goalscorers

There were 100 goals scored in 34 matches, for an average of 2.94 goals per match.

7 goals

  • Asharaf Tapsoba
  • Alynho Haïdara

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

  • Jairo Muanha
  • Anan Otto
  • Abdelaziz El-Zoghbi
  • Anas Roshdi Emam
  • Bisenty Mendy
  • Seydou Dembélé
  • Soumaila Fané
  • Abdellah Ouazane
  • Ibrahima Sory Sow
  • Fedi Tayechi
  • Abel Nyirongo

1 goal

  • Lourenço José Didissa
  • Delfim Betuela Luwawu
  • Jayden Puna
  • Issouf Bara
  • Issouf Dabo
  • Mohamed Fofana
  • David Mimbang
  • André Zibi
  • Belal Ateya
  • Broulaye Cissé
  • Mobio Koidio
  • Yannis Touali
  • Ahmed Njundu Kanyi
  • Soungalo Coulibaly
  • Mahamadou Traoré
  • Driss Ait Cheikh
  • Ismail El Aoud
  • El Hadji Ibrahima Sow
  • Anas Isse Mohamed
  • Simphiwe Mlondo
  • Emile Witbooi
  • Juma Sagwe
  • Yessine Ben Mahmoud
  • Richard Okello
  • Elvis Torach
  • Simon Wanyama
  • Kelvin Chipelu
  • Billy Daka
  • Jonathan Kalimina
  • Mike Mutale
  • Gabriel Phiri

1 own goal

  • Lamine Keita (against Ivory Coast)
  • Liban Kalif Mohamed (against Gambia)

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Golden Boot[7] Most Valuable Player[7] Best Goalkeeper[7] Coach of the Tournament[7] Fair Play award[7]
Asharaf Tapsoba

Alynho Haïdara

Abdellah Ouazane Chouaib Bellaarouch Nabil Baha  Mali

Qualified teams for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup

The following teams from CAF qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA U-17 World Cup1
 Burkina Faso 3 April 2025 5 (1999, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2023)
 Mali 4 April 2025 6 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2015, 2017, 2023)
 Morocco 6 April 2025 2 (2013, 2023)
 South Africa 1 (2015)
 Zambia 0 (debut)
 Ivory Coast 7 April 2025 4 (1987, 2005, 2011, 2013)
 Senegal 2 (2019, 2023)
 Tunisia 3 (1993, 2007, 2013)
 Egypt 12 April 2025 2 (1987, 1997)
 Uganda 0 (debut)

1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Notes

  1. ^ The match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 20:00, but was rescheduled to 15:00.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "CAF Executive Committee approves 2025 Competition Calendar and TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw Date". 16 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  2. ^ "CAF Announces Key Dates For 2025". iDiski Times. 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ "TotalEnergies, U17 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS, MOROCCO 2025 Fixtures" (PDF). frmf.ma. Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
  4. ^ "Final Draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 to take place on 13 February at CAF headquarters in Cairo". CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Uganda, Tanzania placed in Group A for U-17 AFCON". CECAFAonline.com. CECAFA. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  6. ^ "TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON Final between Morocco and Mali to kick off at 15:00 on Saturday, 19 April". Confederation of African Football. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Ouazane named best player as Morocco sweep awards after historic triumph over Mali". CAFOnline.com. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.